Batteries are electrochemical devices which store and release electrical energy. Batteries may include primary batteries which utilize a nonreversible chemical reaction to generate electricity, and hence are “one use” items; as well as rechargeable or storage batteries which employ a reversible chemical reaction for the generation of electricity. It is to be understood that the term “battery”, in a strict sense, refers to an electrochemical generating system comprised of a plurality of interconnected electrochemical cells, each of which includes an anode, cathode, and electrolyte; however, in the context of this disclosure, the term “battery” is used in its generic and more popular sense to refer to any electrochemical device whether comprised of a single cell or a plurality of cells.
Batteries are important power sources in a wide range of consumer, industrial and military applications. A number of technologies have been developed to improve battery performance. Typically, such technologies have been directed to improving battery performance by increasing power and energy density provided by the batteries. Power refers to the instantaneous rate of electrical energy which can be delivered by a battery, and energy density is the total amount of energy that can be delivered per unit volume of the battery on a single charge. Since batteries are typically employed in connection with portable or otherwise mobile electronic devices, it will be appreciated that the energy density of a battery is a very important parameter.
In most power applications, a battery is used in combination with structural or support elements. For example, cellular phones enclose a battery and other electronics in a polymer case. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) typically include batteries which are mounted in a polymer composite air frame. Circuit boards for a variety of electronic devices have batteries supported thereupon. In order to improve the performance of such devices, efforts have been directed to improving the power and energy density of batteries so as to lessen weight and size burdens associated with incorporating them into electronic systems.
As will be explained hereinbelow, the present invention departs from the conventional, prior art approach to optimizing battery-powered electronic systems and devices. While the present invention aims to produce batteries having good power levels and energy densities, the approach of the present invention involves utilizing battery systems which function as structural elements of a device. The batteries of the present invention include components which themselves are rigid and strong; hence, the batteries of the present invention can function as panels, columns, beams, pylons, and other such structural elements of the articles in which they are incorporated. Since the batteries of the present invention essentially replace inert, nonpower-generating structural elements with power-generating structures, their weight and/or size burden on systems in which they are incorporated is very low. For example, portions of the air frame of an unmanned aerial vehicle may be fabricated from structural batteries. Hence, the overall weight of the vehicle will be reduced and/or the amount of electrical power carried by the vehicle can be significantly increased. It will be appreciated that similar power/weight/size benefits will be achieved with regard to other devices such as cellular telephones, other communications equipment, computers, and specialized electronic devices and systems. In such devices, the structural batteries of the present invention can function as circuit boards, housings, casings, protective members and the like. Further details and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the drawings, discussion and description which follow.